Recently started dieting for The Cincinnati Monster Mash. For me, the preparation and physical changes are the exciting part. I also have the desire to prove to myself that training is the easiest and lesser of part of preparing for a contest. Although I have modified my training slightly, for the last 2 years I have trained my whole body once every 6-7 days using the principles of super slow. In this protocol I lifted the weight (positive movement)in 5-10 seconds and lowered the weight (negative movement) in 10 seconds. My strength gains were steady and can honestly say that I was capable of maintaining a body weight of 195-200 lbs.. The modifications to the training are being implement to build muscle with a slightly greater metabolic involvement. I will change the rep speed to 3-4; the old nautilus protocol. I will also workout 3x/week separating push, pull and legs into 30 minute sessions with again only one set per exercise. In the two workouts since the change I have done 3-4 exercises for major body parts and 2-3 on smaller muscles. Neither workout last 30 minutes and I was sufficiently tired and pumped to the max. Post workout soreness is more evident, but that was to be expected with the changes.

This video is a good representation of how to properly lift.

As an aside, I was stopped yesterday by a guy in the gym who said He had been watching me for a few weeks and never saw anyone lift with so much discipline. He went on to compliment on how slow and precise I made each rep in each exercise. Talk about ego boost! When first started lifting in this manner I was very self conscious because the weights were not as heavy as I used to lift.

I hope to put more pictures and updates on my little experiment. I recently had my body fat and diet analyzed by Dave Pertuset at Wiefit in Newport Kentucky and I have to say eating more has made a big difference in just the last 4 days. My waist is already down an inch and I am having no trouble eating the 6 times a day; except for the cooking and cleaning part.

Dr David Marcon
Work Smarter Not Harder!
Cincinnati, OH
www.drdavidmarcon.com

Got High Blood Pressure? Get Off the Treadmill and Lift Weights

In Hypertension, Strong Men Live Longer

"Even after controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness level and other potential confounders, men in the upper third of muscle strength were 34% less likely to die during an average follow-up of about 18 years (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.98), according to Enrique Artero, PhD, of the University of Granada in Spain, and colleagues."

"The men with the greatest reduction in mortality risk were those who had the most muscular strength and high fitness (HR 0.49, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.82), the researchers reported in the May 3 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology."

As the study notes, these results were attributed to muscular strength above cardiorespiratory fitness.
"Although additional adjustment for cardiorespiratory fitness rendered the trend nonsignificant, men with the most muscular strength still had a significantly lower risk of death than those with the least (HR 0.66)."


Another feather in the cap of muscle heads everywhere. I am thinking most of the men in the study were trained at sub maximal levels. Can the results be even better if training intensity was greater? Either way, cardiac rehab could learn from this study and have those patients back off on the Cardio and start hitting the weights!


Dr. David Marcon
Work Smarter, Not Harder!
Cincinnati, Ohio
drdavidmarcon.com

Would Your Exercise Choice Help You Survive a Natural Disaster?

"That Paleo Guy" Jamie Scott, has first hand experience when it comes to surviving a natural disaster. In his most recent post, Survival of the Fittest, he dissects the necessary attributes for survival separating fact from fiction.

I made the comment following the initial escape from our February earthquake and in the hours and days after, that at no time did I require the ability to run at pace for hours on end... top aerobic endurance was just not a life-saving skill I required. Everything I did required a base built on strength. Yet what is the predominant mode of activity undertaken by those who want to increase their health? Aerobic endurance, closely followed, I would argue (particularly amongst women) by the perceived need to be overly flexible. If you are a bendy woman who can jog for an hour, you are considered healthy. Good luck with that if you need to out sprint an incoming wave and clamber up a bank, or pull rubble off a buried co-worker because your office has partially collapsed.

One other point made by Jamie regarding nutrition was interesting.

Ensure you are well-adapted to burning fats and can get by without suffering a carb crash every 3 hours. Best way to achieve this? You guessed it - a Paleo 2.0 diet. I found that having access to the medium chain fats of coconut cream and oil, plus the longer chain fats in meat and eggs, was plenty to get me through.

I have personally done (2) three week liver and colon cleanses from Standard Process and can attest to the fatigue, headache and general sick feeling I got about 24 hours after eliminating sugar and starch from my diet. The second cleanse done 2 years later and after a complete shift in my diet resulted in no symptoms whatsoever.
With a drop in blood sugar could you manage the mental and physical stress of a natural disaster? Let's hope we never have the experience.

Dr. David Marcon
Work Smarter Not Harder
Cincinnati Ohio
drdavidmarcon.com

It Can Take at Least 6 Days to Recover from Intense Exercise

Yet another study that supports the basic premise of Dr Doug McGuff & John Little's Book "Body By Science".

Subjective perception of physical fitness suggests that recovery over a pre-exercise level of the present type of heavy resistance exercise can take approximately 6 days.

I am personally amazed by the response this type of training has on everyone who sticks with it for at least 2-3 months. Just today I had a client return from a florida trip where her friends were amazed at how healthy and fit she look and that she only works out 30 minutes a week!

Dr David Marcon
Marcon Chiropractic & Wellness Center
Cincinnati Ohio
drdavidmarcon.com

Are You Working Hard Enough?

The big question when resistance training is have you reached muscle failure or mental failure? Mike Mentzer said clients paid him to to get the last two reps. The reps you need for muscular development are typically the ones that are left undone.
Good Post by Drew Baye about breaking the mental barrier.

Intense burning in the muscles, a rapid heart rate and labored breathing are normal sensations resulting from high intensity muscular work, and not real pain or an indication of physical harm. These sensations are not a cause for concern. What they do indicate is that you have reached the most productive part of the exercise.

The notion that quantity is a substitute for quality is a common mistake made by many lifters regardless of their level of experience.

To stimulate the greatest possible increases in strength and size it is necessary to work as hard as possible. Do not make the common mistake of confusing doing more exercise for working harder. Working harder means putting more effort into each exercise, and if your level of effort is high enough you will neither need nor be capable of performing a large volume of work.

Work Smarter Not Harder!
Dr. David Marcon
Cincinnati, Ohio
drdavidmarcon.com